Sam participated in a privilege walk where they reached the sidewalk far ahead of others. This made them feel guilty for not facing the same hardships as others. The exercise helped Sam realize their life is more privileged than they previously thought and that discrimination impacts more people than they knew. Going forward, Sam will be more thankful for their easy life and use what they learned to better understand people from different backgrounds.

1. Sam Sheils
Privilege Walk
I was in the front for the whole time during the privilege walk. I felt kind of guilty because I
didn’t go through any of the hardships that some of the other people went through. When I
reached the sidewalk there were still people were we started. I also felt really lucky to have as
good a life as I’ve had. I also felt like because my life has been so privileged and I haven’t been
through some of the things that others have that they might not like me.
I’ve always known that I was really lucky to have the life I have but, I never realized that a lot
of people have harder lives than I thought. This exercise was a good way of seeing how
different other people’s lives are from mine. There are more people than I thought that have
been discriminated against and this exercise helped me realize that.
In the future I can use this information to see a lot of people live harder lives than I previously
thought. I will be even more thankful than before to have the life that I have and not have to
face any discrimination. I think this was a good exercise and helped understand where people
are coming from better.